s
Dickens said it best. “It was the best of times, it was the
worst of times.” The Rio Olympic Games are now history and there are both
positive and negative takeaways from the event. The games are supposed to
foster international camaraderie and good sportsmanship. This was best
symbolized when US runner Abbey D’Agostino stopped during the 5000-meter heat
to help New Zealand’s Nikki Hamblin who had fallen. Concerned more about an
injured comrade than the race, the two women finished the heat in next to last
and last place, a selfless exhibit of good sportsmanship.
On the other side of this coin Egyptian Judoka athlete Islam
El Shehaby was sent home from the Olympic Game for refusing to shake hands with
Israeli Or Sasson after their match. The International Olympic Committee reprimanded
El Shehaby and stated “his behavior went
against the rules and spirit of the games and the rules of fair play.”
The new school year is in session (or is about to be) and
with it comes fall sports, the most popular being football. Let’s hope that the
positive lessons of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games will translate into fair play
and good sportsmanship both on and off the playing field.
c.2016 J. Margolis
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